Don not Wade Gives Way to Pete Rose

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TRIVIA QUESTION:   Ken McMullen was traded twice in huge transactions involving two of the most powerful home run hitters of the era. Who were those two sluggers?

ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: When Nolan Ryan made his Mets debut in 1966 the first hit he allowed in his few inning pitched was to pitcher Pat Jarvis. The first home he allowed was to the Atlanta Braves Joe Torre. Torre would go onto become a batting champ, a great manager and one of MLB's most important executives. 

In baseball the term "journeyman" can be defined in many different ways. Maybe it's a player who plays for lots of teams and just hangs on. Maybe it's a guy who is the player brought in to fill a hole while the club develops a young player. Maybe it's a player who is very valuable in the clubhouse and on the field with versatility. Perhaps it's a player named Don Blasingame.

Don Blasingame was a pretty good second baseman during his time and it looked like he may have been getting ready to settle in after the 1962 season with the Cincinnati Reds. However, the Reds had other plans for that position; a kid name Pete Rose was about to make his MLB debut. It spelled the end of the line for Blasingame in Cincinnati. 

            (at 1:33 of the above video "Don Blasingame leads off the series and loses his bat!)

This wasn't the first time Blasingame would be moved because of a young kid coming up with high expectations, nor would it be the last. As a solid player in St. Louis, he was coming off one of his best seasons hitting .289. The Cards had an up and coming youngster at second whom they picked up in a trade with Pittsburgh. Julian Javier would enjoy a really nice career with the Cardinals for several seasons and was a defensive wiz. Blasingame was expendable and was quickly dealt to the Giants.

He only logged three games with the Giants before being dealt again, this time to the Reds. Joey Amalfitano was locked in at second base and was two years younger than the 29 year old Blasingame. The Giants simply didn't need him and it seems the Reds needed a stop gap player until Rose arrived.

When the Reds shipped him to the Senators he replaced Chuck Cottier and stayed at second base until the 1966 season when the Senators drafted 25 year old Bob Saverine from the Houston Astros and he replaced Blasingame who was now 34 and coming to the end of his career. Saverine turned out to be a bust. He hit .239 in parts of six seasons with several clubs.

It ended when after 68 games played with Washington he was sold to Kansas City in August, played 12 more games and was released in September.  The A's had light hitting Dick Green at second and perhaps were looking for a little insurance. Of course with Charley O. Finley running things you never knew what was going to happen. 

Blasingame's less than illustrious career seemed to chug along well until there was somebody waiting in the wings management felt was just a step better and a shade younger. It should be noted at this point, when he himself became a regular in St. Louis it was at the expense of future Hall of Fame second sacker, Red Schoendienst. Schoendienst was promptly traded to the Giants before going on to a career with the Braves.

Blasingame finished his career .251, 21 homers and 308 RBI and played in one World Series (1961). In his final appearance he got a pinch hit single off Minnie Rojas of the Angels on August 27th, 1966. He did not figure in the scoring. He ended his career the way he started it back on September 20, 1955 when as a lead off hitter for the Cardinals he got a first inning single off Sam Jones of the Cubs. He scored when Solly Hemus followed with a home run. The game ended 2-0.


His major milestone was in a statistic few people think about but it's important. He hit into fewer double plays (one in every 123 at-bats) than anyone in major league history except Don Buford.

There isn't much else to say about Don Blasingame except for these two points; He was not related to the Braves pitcher Wade Blasingame but he was the son-in-law of Walker Cooper. And the other point is probably only significant to this writer; the very first baseball glove I had when I started playing Little League was a "Don Blasingame" Signature Model. Now that is cool. 

Thank you to those of you who purchased my book after reading this column. It has been appreciated. 

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Please share this blog with your friends and colleagues and leave a comment at the bottom of the blog if you have one. Thank YOU VERY MUCH!! Please pick up a copy of my book "Tales of My Baseball Youth; A Child of the 60's" at www.bobbrillbooks.com, or on Amazon.   

The First Year The Mets Did Not Lose 100

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TRIVIA QUESTION:   While Nolan Ryan's first strikeout was pitcher Pat Jarvis, who hit the first home run off the fast ball wielding Ryan? Hint: He is in the Hall of Fame and is known for being more than just a player.

ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: The year before future HOFer Lou Brock came to the St. Louis Cardinals, Stan Musial retired. The other future Redbird player to go to the Hall who also retired that season was future manager, Red Schoendienst. 

If you were a long suffering New York Mets fan, 1966 was a real milestone. It marked the first time in their short history the Amazin's DID NOT lose 100 games in a season. Doubly important, it was the first time in their history the Mets DID NOT have a 20 game loser on the mound.

It was the first time a manager other than Casey Stengel took over the club for a full season. Wes Westrum actually replaced Stengel in 1965 after 95 games and 31 wins. Westrum's record was to lose three times more than he won, finishing 1965 with a 19-48 record and the club lost 112. But in 1966 things finally started to improve for New York's NL team. 

It was only a one season bailout, so don't get me wrong, this was not the full Monty so to speak of turn arounds. It was a brief foray into NOT losing 100 games, but instead losing just 95. The team scored 587 and gave up 761. They finished last in nearly every important hitting category and next to last in others. 

Of the 10 teams in the NL, the Mets finished 10th in hits, doubles, home runs, batting average, slugging average, OPS, at bats and total bases. They were ninth when it came to On-Base percentage, stolen bases and runs scored. They were third (their highest offensive marks) in caught stealing and Hit By Pitch. 

On the pitching side, the club finished last in innings pitched, walks, strikeouts and Saves, but not in losses. Only the Chicago Cubs (103 losses) finished lower than the New Yorkers. Mets' pitchers did finish ninth in Wins, ERA, Shutouts, Hits allowed, Runs allowed, Earned Runs allowed and Home Runs allowed.

However, for the first time in Mets's history they did not have a pitcher lose 20 games. Jack Fisher lost 14 and Jack Hamilton dropped 13. Two Mets starters actually had winning records. Dennis Ribant was 11-9, Bob Shaw 11-10. 

In their history to this date the Mets had these 20 game losers; 

1962 Roger Craig 24, Al Jackson 20
1963 Roger Craig 24
1964 Tracey Stallard 20
1965  Jack Fisher 24, Al Jackson 20.

The 1966 Mets did finished last in eight of the top offensive categories and ninth in two more and on the pitching side they were last in four categories and ninth in seven others. Still it was a great improvement for the New York faithful who finished second in the NL, as 1.9 million people walked through the turnstiles. 

Ron Hunt led the hitters at .288, while Ed Kranepool whacked 16 homers to lead the team and tied with Cleon Jones with 57 RBI. And a 19 year old kid named Nolan Ryan pitched a total of three innings, striking out six and walking only one. His first K was Pat Jarvis, the pitcher. 

Never fear the Mets were back to their old ways in 1967, finishing 59-103 with Salty Parker taking over for Westrum for the final 11 games, before ushering in the Gil Hodges era.

Thank you to those of you who purchased my book after reading this column. It has been appreciated. 

Also: Please check out our new Western Short Film. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/iron-gun-western-feature-film/#/
Please share this blog with your friends and colleagues and leave a comment at the bottom of the blog if you have one. Thank YOU VERY MUCH!! Please pick up a copy of my book "Tales of My Baseball Youth; A Child of the 60's" at www.bobbrillbooks.com, or on Amazon.   

The Worst Trade of the 1960's

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TRIVIA QUESTION:   Lou Brock came to the Cardinals in 1964, one year after Cardinal great Stan Musial retired. Who was the other Cardinal great and future Hall of Famer who retired as a Redbird the same season as Musial?

ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: Carol Taylor, the super utility man who played for Pittsburgh in 1969, is the step brother of former Oriole's slugger, Boog Powell.

 When Red Sox fans talk about the "curse of the Babe," they were right to refer to deal which sent pitcher/hitter Babe Ruth to the hated New York Yankees for $100,000 in 1919. It wasn't until 2004 the Red Sox finally won a World Series. The Yankee story is legendary, led by the years Ruth starred for Murderer's Row. For the Chicago Cubs, there was a similar deal; the "Curse of Lou Brock" you might say. 

The Cubbies had not won a World Series since 1908. It was a dominant time for Chicago. The Cubs won in 1907 and the White Sox did it in 1906. But the Cubs would not win another Series Championship until 2016. A 108 year drought or longer than the Red Sox. During the 1960's the Cubs had some super star laden teams with Billy Williams, Ernie Banks, Ron Santo and a young outfielder named Lou Brock. Add pitchers such as Fergie Jenkins and you had the makings of a team which should have won at least one pennant.

Brock came to the Cubs as a free agent in 1960. The 1961 season opened with an outfield of Billy Williams, Richie Ashburn and Al Heist. A superstar in the making on his way to the Hall of Fame, an aging star also headed to the Hall and a player who came to the big leagues at 32 and would be out of the big leagues at 34 after a rather pedestrian three seasons in the Cubs outfield. There was clearly room for a breakout rookie.

Brock played sparingly in 1960 making his debut on September 10th, inserted into the starting line-up as the center fielder and lead off hitter.  Just over 7,000 fans saw Brock break in. He faced the great Robin Roberts and promptly smacked a single to center in his first at bat. The rest of his at bats, in his one-for-five debut, were non de script but he did score a run. 

In 1961 in four games he hit .091 and in his first full season, 1962, he was still getting familiar with the big league pitching. The son of a share cropper, he had dominated in his only minor league campaign, winning the batting title with a .361 average in the Northern League. 

The 1962 season saw the young outfielder hit .263 followed by .258 with nine homers in each year. As swift as he was, Brock stole 16 and 24 bases in those two years. It wasn't enough for Cub's management. They needed pitching and the Cardinals needed an outfielder.

On June 15, 1964, the Cubs made what was long thought of as one of the worst trades in major league baseball history. They sent Brock, along with Jack Spring and Paul Toth to the St. Louis Cardinals for Ernie Broglio, Doug Clemens and Bobby Shantz. Broglio was the key. The tall right-hander had won 21 games to lead the NL in 1960. After an off-season in 1961 he came back to win 12 and then 18 in 1963. The Cubs wanted him and they got him. Brock was expendable.

Brock, hitting only .251 when the trade took place, scorched opposing pitchers in St. Louis at a .348 clip and finished the year at .315 with 30 doubles, 11 triples, 14 homers and 43 stolen bases. Broglio went 7-12 with a 3.82 ERA. Brock went on to a Hall of Fame career and a then record 938 stolen bases including 118 in 1974. 

Broglio won three more games in the following two seasons and was out of baseball when the 1966 season ended. Brock had a life-time .293 average with 149 homers, while Broglio won 77 and lost 74 in his career. 

As for the others in the trade; Bobby Shantz retired at the end of the 1964 season, Doug Clemons played one less than illustrious season in Chicago before ending up three more pedestrian years in Philadelphia, Jack Spring pitched a total of 24 more MLB innings and Paul Toth pitched 10 more innings for the Cubs giving up 10 runs before calling it quits in 1967, having never pitched in the big leagues again.
Thank you to those of you who purchased my book after reading this column. It has been appreciated. 

Also: Please check out our new Western Short Film. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/iron-gun-western-feature-film/#/
Please share this blog with your friends and colleagues and leave a comment at the bottom of the blog if you have one. Thank YOU VERY MUCH!! Please pick up a copy of my book "Tales of My Baseball Youth; A Child of the 60's" at www.bobbrillbooks.com, or on Amazon.